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OOIDA Appeals for Rehearing on Pilot Mexican Trucking Program

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, the largest organization in the U.S. representing the rights of professional truck drivers, filed an appeal in its lawsuit against the Department of Transportation and its cross-border trucking program with Mexico on Monday, June 3.

The OOIDA asked the U.S. Court of Appeals to grant a rehearing regarding the issue of whether commercial drivers licenses in Mexico should be accepted as equivalent to those issued in the United States. OOIDA would like a panel hearing or rehearing en banc.

The court ruled in May that the DOT’s cross-border pilot program was legal despite arguments made by OOIDA that the United States has stricter highway safety regulations than Mexico.

OOIDA contends that trucking companies based in Mexico cannot comply with U.S. regulations and should not have full access to U.S. highways.

“Truckers here face ever-increasing restrictions in the name of safety, while no such expectations are in place in Mexico,” said Todd Spencer, OOIDA executive vice-president. “To allow access puts jobs at risk and endangers our highways.”

On Monday, June 3, the Teamsters and the Sierra Club filed a joint request that asked for a rehearing on their challenge to the U.S. Department of Transportation's long-haul cross-border trucking program.

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The two groups are challenging the court's ruling on environmental grounds because they say it undercuts the National Environmental Policy Act and violates the precedent that federal agencies must consider the environmental consequences of their actions before making decisions.